What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation On January 1, 1863. However, most enslaved people were not told they were free. On June 19, 1865, Union troops reached Galveston, Texas, one of the farthest reaches of the union, and informed the population that the Civil War was over and all enslaved persons were now free.
Emancipation didn’t happen overnight for everyone. Many slaveholders hid the news until after the harvest in the fall. But for those who did learn the news, celebrations broke out for the newly freed slaves. The 13th Amendment would formally end slavery in the United States in 1866.
In 1866, the Freedmen remaining in Texas organized “Jubilee Day” to commemorate the end of slavery on June 19th. These celebrations often featured music, food, and church services, and as African Americans migrated out of Texas, they brought this celebration and tradition with them.
